Again he wiped them hastily away.  “Did ever father have such a dear daughter?” he said, gazing fondly down into the sweet face.  “I ought to be the happiest of men.  I believe I am——­”

“Except one,” exclaimed a joyous voice, at sound of which Elsie’s eyes brightened and the color deepened on her cheek.  “May I come in?”

“Yes, Travilla,” said Mr. Dinsmore; “you have now an equal right with me.”

Travilla thought his was superior, or would be after the ceremony, but generously refrained from saying so.  And had Mr. Dinsmore been questioned on the subject, he could not have asserted that it had ever occurred to him that Mr. Allison had an equal right with himself in Rose.  But few people are entirely consistent.

Mr. Travilla drew near the two, still standing together, and regarded his bride with a countenance beaming with love and delight.  The sweet eyes sought his questioningly, and meeting his ardent gaze the beautiful face sparkled all over with smiles and blushes.

“Does my toilet please you, my friend?” she asked.  “And you, papa?”

“The general effect is charming,” said Mr. Travilla; “but,” he added, in low, tender tones saying far more than the words, “I’ve been able to see nothing else for the dear face that is always that to me.”

“I can see no flaw in face or attire,” Mr. Dinsmore said, taking a more critical survey; “you are altogether pleasing in your doting father’s eyes, my darling.  But you must not stand any longer.  You will need all your strength for your journey.”  And he would have led her to a sofa.

But she gently declined.  “Ah, I am much too fine to sit down just now, my dear, kind father, I should crush my lace badly.  So please let me stand.  I am not conscious of weariness.”

He yielded, saying with a smile, “That would be a pity; for it is very beautiful.  And surely you ought to be allowed your own way to-night if ever.”

“To-night and ever after,” whispered the happy groom in the ear of his bride.

A loving, trustful look was her only answer.

A continued rolling of wheels without, and buzz of voices coming from veranda, hall, and reception rooms, could now be heard.

“The house must be filling fast,” said Mr. Dinsmore, “and as host I should be present to receive and welcome my guests, Travilla,” and his voice trembled slightly, as he took Elsie’s right hand and held it for a moment closely clasped in his; “I do not fear to trust you with what to me is a greater treasure than all the gold of California.  Cherish my darling as the apple of your eye; I know you will.”

He bent down for another silent caress, laid the hand in that of his friend, and left the room.

“And you do not fear to trust me, my little friend?” Travilla’s tones, too, were tremulous with deep feeling.

“I have not the shadow of a fear,” she answered, her eyes meeting his with an earnest, childlike confidence.